The FReeper Foxhole Profiles The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III - April 16th, 2004

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[snippy_about_it]

LOL. The parent's meeting. Ruh-roh, you'll probably be the only one who isn't snooty!

[snippy_about_it]

Naw. I never really was snooty, I too was an outcast so to speak. Good grades and all. Not in the in crowd but not out either. I was lucky enough to accumulate all the courses I needed so I could leave school and work at a paying job my last two years. No time for "groups".

[Samwise]

Not in the in crowd but not out either.

That's probably the best place to be.

[Samwise]

Uh oh. I just realized something. She made band too. Does nerd+cool=normal? I hope they equal out.

[Valin]

The wings are high-mounted and back-tapered with blunt tips and a negative slant. Two turbofans are mounted in long pods mounted on top of the wings.

Weird! I wonder why they put the engines on top of the wings?

[Valin]

COUNTERMEASURES

Comic On duty...World Tour
Comic On duty...World Tour Steve Eblin
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1049017/posts
(snip)
We’re hitching a ride to Uzbekistan on a C-130 cargo plane. It’s the 5 of us, 2 other passengers, and a giant pallet of supplies that looks as if it’s going to break loose and crush us all like ants at any moment. I keep an eye on it and plan what I’m going to do if it does snap loose. Granted, this plan mostly involves wetting myself and screaming, but it’s still nice to have a plan in place. Making sure we all were wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts (“It gets a little chilly at 30,000 feet! Ha Ha!”) we’re handed earplugs and given instructions on how to exit the pane after an emergency landing. We’re the only ones not armed and/or wearing Kevlar at this point. During takeoff we see one of the crew in a perch at the rear of the plane, looking out a side window. We later learn that his job is to watch for anything coming at the plane, like rockets or missiles, and fire off “heat decoys,” which obviously take the incoming hit instead of the plane. I’m glad they didn’t tell us this until later, because the takeoff itself was enough to make me poop my pants.

(snip,off topic)
About halfway through the flight, the navigator comes down and invites us up to the cockpit, one by one. My turn comes as the flight nears the end, so I get to be up there with Steve Mazan for the approach and landing. This is possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever done, which admittedly is not a fierce competition. Wearing a headset to listen in on the cockpit chatter, and getting to look out the windows is amazing, then the navigator points me to the “bubble” in the top of the cockpit. It’s what it sounds like, a simple glass bubble that protrudes from the top of the plane for viewing; I stick my head up and it’s so cool I can hardly stand it; I’m at 30,000 feet over Uzbekistan, with a view that maybe a couple hundred people on earth ever see; the mountain ranges butting right up against the desert, the small towns and villages going by, tucked into the valleys and on the hillsides…it’s kind of like South Dakota, except the roads look like they’re in better shape. They also probably have better gigs here. (For the record, the Bishkek gig is on the front end of Rapid City; $200, no room, 25% off dinner. Be there by 3 for radio or you’ll be skinned!)
(snip)
After breakfast we’re taken on a tour of the base. This is where the Taliban had their stronghold, so there are bullet holes and mortar craters everywhere. It’s eye opening, and then we reach a building called “The Taliban’s Last Stand.” This is the place we heard about on the news, the fiercest resistance they put up; several hundred Taliban…well, former Taliban, if you get my drift… were found inside once it was taken. Walking around inside this structure, seeing the gaping holes in the roof where bombs and rockets came through, you wonder what they were thinking. Did they really believe that brick and mortar would withstand the might of the American military? If they did, how brainwashed are they? I’d sooner believe the Bengals will win the Super Bowl, but apparently their heads are so filled with anti-American propaganda they don’t know any better. I wonder if they had a revelation at the last minute, as the walls crumbled around them; “Hey, wait a minute! These Americans are fighting awfully hard and awfully strong for the ‘weak, paper tigers’ we were told they are. I should have listened to my mother and been an accountant.”
(snip, on topic)
September 11, 2003

We return from our show in Kanduhar and get to our fabulous accommodations at the airport Hilton, bombed out division. After beating the Cobras out of our shoes and wiping the top 3 layers of dust from our food, we settle in for a long winter’s nap. Why we thought we’d be able to sleep through the night, I have no idea. About an hour later (Just when the dream cheerleaders are starting to lock and load) our escort Bill O’Brien comes in and informs us that there’s good news and bad news: the good news is we have a flight to Bagram; the bad news is that it leaves in an hour, and due to an odd quirk we have to check our luggage with Lufthansa. So once again we pack up our bags and head to the airfield for an overnight flight. Crammed onto a C-130 along with several scary looking Romanian troops and a monster vehicle carrying at least 8 rockets (“No, bouncing them around like this won’t set them off! Just try to relax!”), we swerve our way around the mountains and onto Bagram Air Field, which is the center of operations for the entire Afghani theater. The light is coming up as we land. Today is September 11, and I can tell I’m not the only one – civilian or military – that’s not on a higher alert.

A hop, skip, and a combat landing/lost lunch later we’re on the ground.


Note a loooong piece but well worth the time.

[The Mayor]

The Niagara River is fast, as soon as it makes the turn at the north end of the Island it's full speed to the Falls.

I only live 5 miles from there and canada..

Good night all!

[radu]

Hellooooo to all at the Foxhole!

To all our military men and women, past and present, and to our allies who stand with us,
THANK YOU!

Dang, that Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is BIG!!!!!
This shot you posted, Phil, is just toooo wild! LOL!

[SAMWolf]

Good grief, she'll be a teenager next year

Oh Boy! Then the real "Fun" starts

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Valin. IMHO, that's some good writing.

[SAMWolf]

Night Mayor.

[SAMWolf]

Evening Radu! That is a good picture and Phil's comment was a gem.

[radu]

Hiya SAM.
LOL!....Phil's comment with that pic was a winner, for sure. I'm still giggling about it.

How are things over your way these days? Has Spring finally sprung?
After the SNOW we had here Tuesday, I think Old Man Winter is finally through with us. 80F and clear skies today! WOOOHOOOO!! Of course, this nice weather means hubby and I have been busting butt the past couple of days. win a little, lose a little. LOL!

[snippy_about_it]

I remember this piece. Good read, thanks.

[snippy_about_it]

The band and cheerleading. Hey, how can you play at the games and cheerlead at the same time?

[snippy_about_it]

You are in a cold place. Good night Mayor. Stay warm.

[SAMWolf]

Beautiful here, been cool the last few days but everything is green and all the flowers are in bloom. :-) Winter is done here.

[snippy_about_it]

what would the designation of that aircraft so tasked be?

B-17, B-29 or MB-17 or MB-29 for MOAB. :-)

[radu]

We thought winter was done here til it SNOWED the other day. grrrrrrr! Dogwood winter. We still have Blackberry Winter to deal with but it shouldn't be as drastic.

Things are nice and green....and growing like crazy! LOL! We were out mowing til after dark this evening. Firtunately, the riding mower and the tractor have headlights.

[SAMWolf]

It snows in Tennessee?